PATCHOGUE, NY – NOVEMBER 8, 2007 – St. Joseph’s College is pleased to announce that it has introduced a new Master of Arts degree in Childhood or Adolescence Special Education to its graduate curriculum. With an annotation in Severe and Multiple Disabilities, the program provides the basic core for a specialized education curriculum. The new degree, currently being offered on the Long Island Campus only, became available to graduate students in September 2007.

Expertise in the content area is acquired through courses, such as Assessment, Legal Issues, Inclusion of Family, School and Community in a Collaborative Model and Differentiated Instruction for Students with Diverse Needs, among others. Students will also receive instruction pertaining to issues in severe disabilities, which includes fieldwork and assessment for the annotation.

“We are excited about this program, because it addresses a need in New York State,” explains Sister Miriam Honora Corr, Chairperson of the Child Study Department at St. Joseph’s College. “We are discovering that there are not enough Special Education Childhood and Adolescence teachers in the state and our program meets that need.”

The Master’s in Childhood or Adolescence Special Education with an annotation in Severe and Multiple Disabilities is a 36-credit degree program. Offered through the School of Professional and Graduate Studies at St. Joseph’s College, the new program leads to New York Certification in Childhood Special Education or Adolescent Special Education and Annotated Certification in Severe and Multiple Disabilities from birth to 21 years old. The College also offers graduate degrees in Business, Nursing, Literacy/Cognition and Infant/Toddler Early Childhood Special Education.

For more information about the Child Study programs at St. Joseph’s College, please call Paige Napoli at (631) 447-3383 or via email at pnapoli@sjcny.edu.

About St. Joseph's College

St. Joseph’s College has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the College provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility, and service. With campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and in Patchogue, Suffolk, Long Island, the College offers degrees in over 22 majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs through its School of Arts and Sciences and its School of Professional and Graduate Studies.